Former Manatee County deputy arrested on battery charge

VENICE (FOX 13) - A Manatee County deputy was arrested in Venice on a battery charge.

Steven Buckel resigned from the agency on Friday after an alleged battery incident with a 17-year-old, according to an arrest affidavit. The report said Buckel approached the teenage girl on Venice Beach while she was sunbathing. She told investigators he rubbed her back and kissed her.

According to the police report, the teenager, “pushed him away and said ‘you’re a cop and I am 17,’ over and over again.”

She told investigators she felt that she had to comply because of his repeated demands for a kiss, and she believed he was a cop.

Venice police officers began investigating the incident and Buckel was ultimately arrested.